CWA District 4 members, retirees, and staff met at the end of September in Detroit, Mich., for their district meeting, hosted by CWA District 4 Vice President Linda L. Hinton. Celebrating “The Power of Us!,” CWA Executive Board members in attendance included CWA Telecommunications and Technologies Vice President Lisa Bolton; CWA Public, Healthcare and Education Workers Vice President Margaret Cook; and CWA Central Region Executive Board Member Reginald Small. CWA Secretary-Treasurer Ameenah Salaam also attended the meeting. Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber provided a warm welcome to attendees.

CWA President Claude Cummings Jr., speaking on recent Department of Homeland Security attempts to intimidate CWA, said, “We have a proud tradition of standing up to bullies and bosses. We will not be intimidated, and we will not be silenced in our solidarity with our members, with our communities, and with our neighbors. Our union halls remain open. Our fight continues.

“Why? Because when we fight, we win!”

Conference attendees also heard, via video messages, from pro-worker U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and voting rights advocate and Michigan gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson.

Members and retirees participated in unit bargaining meetings and interactive workshops on topics including “Confronting AI in Our Bargaining,” “Advocacy and Union Work,” and took part in the Legislative and Political Department’s Fighting Oligarchy training. Vice President Hinton also presented several awards to members for their outstanding commitment to our shared union values.

Said Vice President Hinton, “We hold the power, but we must be present…be at the table. We must reject the evil, divisiveness, cruelty, and greed!"

 
CWA District 4 members, retirees, and staff met in Detroit, Mich., to share ideas and learn more about how the district is working to build collective power.

Last week, quality assurance (QA) testers at Activision Publishing—represented by CWA Locals 6215, 7250, and 9400—voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike following recent delays at the bargaining table. This vote gives CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. the authority to call for a strike if negotiations continue to stall. Activision Quality Assurance United-CWA (AQAU-CWA) and Activision have been negotiating a first contract for over two years.

On October 14, workers held an action outside the Activision Publishing building in Bloomington, Minn. The breakdown in negotiations caused by the company’s delays comes at a critical time in the production and release cycle of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, one of Activision’s most profitable franchises.

“Bargaining has been a long, exhausting process spanning over two years, with our committee making responsible moves while the company continues to stall on critical issues like wages, accommodations, and worker protections,” said AQAU-CWA bargaining committee member and QA Functional Tester Emily Danko. “Despite our efforts to bargain in good faith, meaningful progress has been difficult, leaving key issues unresolved. Our members remain united and continue to mobilize. We are exploring every option available to secure the fair contract we deserve.”

CWA represents nearly 2,500 workers at Activision-Blizzard. Based on the call of President Cummings, workers may be on strike as early as October 22.

Click here to read the full AQAU-CWA press release.

AT&T Forged Fiber

On October 20, Fiber Technicians and Facility Specialists at Forged Fiber, AT&T’s newest wholesale fiber joint venture, launched informational pickets across eight states (Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, Utah, and Washington) to demand a fair contract.

At stake in negotiations is AT&T’s attempt to outsource critical infrastructure work to non-union contractors, despite directly employing over 1,100 highly-trained union technicians who transferred from Lumen Technologies when AT&T acquired its fiber business earlier this year. These pickets come just as AT&T is seeking regulatory approval to sell a 50% stake in Forged Fiber to BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

This is AT&T’s second wholesale fiber joint venture. The first, Gigapower, launched as a partnership with BlackRock in May 2023. CWA has repeatedly raised concerns about Gigapower’s contractor-based business model and released a report in July that found Gigapower’s first phase has been plagued with deployment delays, missed buildout targets, and costly litigation with former contractor partners.

“AT&T has achieved success as a union company, with experienced and highly skilled union labor,” said CWA District 7 Vice President Susie McAllister. “But instead of building on a successful union model, AT&T seems determined to replicate its race-to-the-bottom strategy that already failed at Gigapower. Our members at Forged Fiber are demanding that AT&T bargain in good faith and not put our communities and customers at risk by using substandard contracted services.”

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Seattle Times

In September, approximately 60 CWA members at the Seattle Times—represented by the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild (TNG-CWA Local 37082)—engaged in their first informational picket in over 20 years in response to months of delays at the bargaining table.

After more than six months of negotiating, members and management are no closer to agreement on wage increases. Members filed an unfair labor practice charge in June after Seattle Times management refused to bring a wage proposal to the table. When their offer finally came, it fell far short of expectations and the needs of members. Wage concerns are being driven by cost of living increases and prolonged inflation.

Another major concern is the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI). Despite members bringing these concerns to the table, management has refused to implement guardrails to protect workers and the readership from abuses of AI.

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Horizon Air

AFA-CWA Flight Attendants with Horizon Air, along with allies, were out in force last week, picketing for a living-wage contract at six airports across the western United States, including Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (pictured above). Horizon Air Flight Attendants play a critical role in Alaska-Hawaiian’s network, yet management is two and a half years past due on delivering a fair contract.

Click here to watch a recap of the Horizon Air pickets.

On September 30, Delaware Governor Matt Meyer signed two significant pro-labor bills into law. These wins come after intense relationship-building with key members of the Delaware House and Senate, including multiple informational sessions to keep elected officials informed of CWA’s legislative priorities. CWA Local 13101 President Mike Watson played a decisive role in ushering these bills into law.

Under previous Delaware law, striking workers were only eligible for unemployment benefits if they were experiencing a lockout. The new law updates the requirement to include labor disputes outside of lockouts, making it possible for striking workers to qualify for benefits. This could alleviate some of the financial burden associated with strike actions. Workers will also be free to decline meetings of a religious, political, or anti-union nature, and employers are barred from any disciplinary action resulting from workers’ absences.

Congratulations to President Watson and all of the CWA legislative and political activists making Delaware a better place for organized labor!

Last week, CWA hosted a webinar on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) harmful deregulation of telecom networks. Members of CWA’s Broadband Brigade joined experts to discuss how the FCC under President Trump is accelerating the retirement of traditional copper wire service without proper oversight, which puts union jobs and public safety at risk.

“You cannot separate the contracts we negotiate, the safety on our worksites, or the future of our work from who sits in the White House, who sits in the governor's mansion, and who holds the gavel in Congress to conduct oversight,” said CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. during the webinar. “When anti-union politicians take these offices, they appoint Wall Street loyalists who dismantle our protections and rubber-stamp the destruction of union work.”

You can contribute to CWA's efforts to document the harms of unaccountable copper retirement. CWA is collecting stories from residents and workers about how the copper retirement process is playing out in the real world and the challenges with getting an adequate, affordable replacement service. Submit your stories at CWA.org/CopperStories.

A recording of the webinar is available to view, as is a fact sheet on copper retirement to further educate and inform community members and local officials on this important issue.

Last week, CWA staff and elected officers, including (left to right) Senior Airlines Research Associate Angela Marie Hatcher; NABET-CWA President Charlie Braico; CWA Legislative and Political Department National Field Coordinator Charlie Ramos; CWA Senior Web Developer Neil Payne; Strategic Research Associate Hooman Hedayati; CWA Public, Healthcare and Education Workers Vice President Margaret Cook; Assistant to Vice President Cook Thomas Walker; and CWA Organizing Data Specialist Lisa Lai wrote postcards to CWA members and retirees in Georgia, Texas, Mississippi, and Florida urging them to get out to vote for pro-worker candidates.

NATIONWIDE – On Tuesday, Fiber Technicians and Facility Specialists at Forged Fiber, AT&T’s newest wholesale fiber joint venture, will launch informational pickets across nine states (Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, Utah, and Washington) to demand a fair contract. At stake in negotiations is AT&T’s attempt to outsource critical infrastructure work to non-union contractors, despite directly employing over 1,100 of highly-trained unionized technicians who transferred from Lumen Technologies when AT&T acquired its fiber business earlier this year. These pickets come just as AT&T is seeking regulatory approval to sell a 50% stake in Forged Fiber to BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.¹

AT&T employs thousands of frontline technicians across the United States that are represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA). These workers’ expertise and commitment to their local communities has enabled AT&T to become the nation's largest fiber internet provider. The Company is looking to continue this success by reaching 60 million fiber locations by 2030.² AT&T appears to be turning towards joint ventures (JVs) that rely on contractors to reach a growing share of these locations, with nearly 13% of total locations served by JVs as of the second quarter of this year.³

Forged Fiber 37 is AT&T’s second wholesale fiber JV. The first, Gigapower, launched as a partnership with BlackRock in May 2023. Gigapower relies on an entirely subcontracted frontline technician workforce for its deployments.⁴ CWA has repeatedly raised concerns about Gigapower’s contractor-based business model with public officials and investors. In July 2026, CWA published a report analyzing Gigapower’s first phase of deployment based on corporate disclosures, municipal public records, litigation documents, and field investigations. CWA found that Gigapower’s first phase has been plagued with deployment delays, missed buildout targets, and ongoing high price tag litigation with former contractor partners.

“AT&T has achieved success as a union company, with experienced and highly skilled union labor,” said CWA District 7 Vice President Susie McAllister. “But instead of building on a successful union model, AT&T seems determined to replicate its race-to-the-bottom strategy that already failed at Gigapower. Our members at Forged Fiber are demanding that AT&T bargain in good faith and not put our communities and customers at risk by using substandard contracted services.”

Forged Fiber 37 technicians are highly skilled and well-trained infrastructure professionals with years of experience serving their communities. AT&T’s failure to bargain in good faith and attempt to circumvent highly skilled unionized labor degrades workers’ rights and work quality standards that can have serious negative impacts on consumers and public infrastructure. CWA filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board in August 2026 alleging that Forged Fiber is refusing to bargain in good faith.⁵

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About CWA: The Communications Workers of America represents working people in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, manufacturing, tech, and other fields.

cwa-union.org @cwaunion

Ahead of next week’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 early access launch, workers at Microsoft-owned Activision Publishing vote to strike if necessary to achieve a fair union contract

NATIONWIDE — On Thursday, October 15, quality assurance testers at Activision Publishing—represented by Communications Workers of America (CWA) Locals 6215, 7250, and 9400—have overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike following recent delays at the bargaining table, giving CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. the authority to call for a strike if negotiations continue to stall. Activision Quality Assurance United-CWA (AQAU-CWA) and Activision have been negotiating for a first contract for over two years.

Yesterday, workers held an action outside the Activision Publishing building in Bloomington, Minn. The breakdown in negotiations caused by the company’s delays comes at a critical time in the production and release cycle of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, one of Activision’s most profitable franchises. The heavily awaited video game will be available for early access on Friday, October 16, with a worldwide launch on October 23.

“Bargaining has been a long, exhausting process spanning over two years, with our committee making responsible moves while the company continues to stall on critical issues like wages, accommodations, and worker protections,” said AQAU-CWA bargaining committee member and QA Functional Tester Emily Danko. “Despite our efforts to bargain in good faith, meaningful progress has been difficult, leaving key issues unresolved. Our members remain united and continue to mobilize, but we are exploring every option available to secure the fair contract we deserve.”

CWA represents nearly 2,500 workers at Activision-Blizzard. At Activision, these workers are behind the development of several popular video games within the Call of Duty franchise. In March 2024, nearly 600 quality assurance testers became one of the first groups of workers to organize at Activision, following in the footsteps of quality assurance workers at Raven Software two years prior. Shortly after forming a union, members of AQAU-CWA’s bargaining committee engaged in contract negotiations with Activision Publishing in August 2024. After two years of bargaining, the members of the AQAU-CWA bargaining table state that Activision has failed to bargain in good faith over key issues, including wage increases, guardrails on AI usage, the company’s usage of contractors, and workers’ rights to seek accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“Activision’s stalling at the bargaining table shows that they are not the high-road, union-neutral employer they once committed themselves to be and are instead aggressively fighting us in bad faith at the table,” said AQAU-CWA bargaining committee member and QA Functional Tester Jenna Huffman. “Our members are tired of the stalling and are prepared to do what needs to be done to secure a fair contract, a fair wage, and fair working conditions for everyone.”

“For two years, Activision Publishing has delayed and stalled negotiations rather than doing their duty to bargain in good faith with the dedicated workers who work on profit-shattering titles that the gaming community enjoys dearly,” said CWA District 7 Vice President Susie McAllister. “The results of the strike authorization vote send a clear message to Activision management: it is time to stop playing games because our members are united and prepared to do what it takes to win the strong contract they deserve.”

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The Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA) is a network of worker-organizers and their staff working every single day to build the voice and power necessary to ensure the future of the tech, game, and digital industries in the United States and Canada. CODE-CWA is a project of the Communications Workers of America, which represents hundreds of thousands of workers throughout tech, media, telecom, and other industries who stand together to fight for justice on the job and in our communities.

cwa-union.org @cwaunion

Only Three Phonebanks Left! Join Now!

Election Day is coming up on November 3, and so much is at stake for union members in this election. Please join us for CWA national phonebanks to help elect pro-worker candidates!

Never attended a phonebank before? No problem! We'll get you trained up. You just need a phone and a computer.

RSVP to get the Zoom link to join the event when it's time.

On October 6, IUE-CWA members and retirees met with Congressman Ro Khanna in Dayton, Ohio, as part of his investigation into Fuyao Glass, a Chinese-owned company with a reputation for safety issues and labor law violations. Congressman Khanna is the Ranking Member on the Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.

Fuyao took over a plant previously owned by General Motors for its “Truck and Bus” manufacturing. The facility was once the worksite of tens of thousands of IUE-CWA Local 84755 members.

Sharing her recollections of the plant under Fuyao management with Congressman Khanna, IUE-CWA Local 84798 member Demetria Hodges said, “The conditions were terrible; there were a lot of safety violations and injuries. I was hit by a forklift and had to be out on workers’ comp for months. The company did nothing to address the safety hazard, and more workers have continued to be injured on the job.” Hodges now works at the IUE-CWA DMAX facility, where safety is a much higher priority. "We have a voice on the job, better safety and working conditions, and better pay. I couldn't imagine going back to work at a factory without a union," said Hodges.

Workers attempted to form a union at Fuyao in 2017 but were met with fierce opposition from the company, who held captive audience meetings, spread rumors about closing the plant, and offered workers a raise if they would “vote no” on the union. Despite these flagrant labor law violations, the company has never been held accountable. The union drive is documented in the Oscar-winning documentary "American Factory," currently on Netflix.

President Carl Kennebrew shared, “Workers at Fuyao and across the country deserve a fighting chance for safety, good wages, and respect on the job that they can win through a collective bargaining agreement. That is why we will never stop fighting for the rights of workers to unionize.”

 
IUE-CWA members and retirees, including IUE-CWA Local 84775 President Sam Sanders (third from right) and Local 84775 Vice President Dawn Smith (second from right), met with Congressman Ro Khanna (center) to discuss numerous safety issues at the plant since its purchase by Fuyao Glass.